Have You Ever Been Alone In a Crowded Room?
by Kitskune Miyake
Summary: A line from the awesome song, "Dark Blue". A new type of song-fic. See details inside to see another one like it. Rated this way 'coz I say so.


This is a new type of song-fic. I take one line or song segment and put it into context of a fic. Most of the lines I'll use are reflective or meaningful, and it works in somehow. If you want to suggest a line, then just send in the line you want, along with the artist, song title, and planned couple. I won't always use the couple, but hey!

Guidelines:

Implied adult themes are allowed, but y'all should be clever about decisions.

Lines must be reasonable to use in conversation. No "fluttering stars soaring above the minds of mortals" or something like that.

Lines may be tampered with to fit context.

Disclaimer for whole fic: I not own SSB or songs. Deal with it.

Song: "Dark Blue"

Artist: Jack's Mannequin

Line: _Have you ever been alone in a quiet room_

Couple: Lucas x Ness

I knew something was wrong after watching a replay of today's match.

I won against Ness several times; that's not right. Ness is usually ten times stronger than me, and his pride never lets him throw a match. He always has to be the winner. Since I, one of the weakest Smashers in the history of the tournament, won against Ness, I got a lot of "Good jobs" and other compliments. Even though their words were congratulatory, I felt none of the warmth that I should have felt. Their words were empty and careless. I knew they didn't really care; it was all a show of good manners after I cost them a couple of coins in the gambling pool.

Then I noticed something important: Ness just disappeared. I decided to not do anything, knowing that he would probably want time on his own.

"Where's Ness?" I asked during lunch. He had been gone for two hours now.

"Probably locked up in his room, sulking about his loss," Ike guessed.

"HE WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS!!" Crazy Hand yelled. We all dismissed the idea.

"I think I'll go look for him," I said.

Three hours later, I had scoured the whole property, stadium, apartments, and all, and saw no sign of Ness. They told me to give up, but I didn't. That was when I decided to go into the forests.

"Don't do it," Nana warned me.

"You'll get lost or something," Marth remarked.

"Poyo," Kirby said with concern. I almost decided to give up then, but I didn't. They wouldn't have understood why. They never understand anything.

I went into the forest to look for him. Nothing. I gave up and looked into the sky, hoping for some sign of Ness. Someone, or something, was listening, because I saw something that I totally forgot about: me and Ness's tree house.

When we first came here, me and Ness built a tree house so we had somewhere to hang out. We were the youngest competitors, so it was nice having somewhere away from all the older Smashers who regarded us as immature. We stopped going gradually, until its existence was totally forgotten.

I climbed up the branches, taking my time to make sure the branches were steady. The last time I was here was two years ago. Since then, I had put on some muscle, adding more stress to the branches. They creaked whiningly under my weight, and I almost snapped a smaller branch as I mad my way up.

Somehow, I made it to the top without falling. I crawled in, barely getting my hips through. Did I really get that fat? Anyways, the tree house seemed smaller than the last time I was in here. I could stand up, but I had to duck my head or bend my knees.

Not that I had to; I saw Ness almost immediately on sight. I didn't want to see him anymore, despite my frantic searching. His arm was covered in blood, and it stained his shirt and hat. His eyes were wet with tears. I immediately got on my knees and crawled towards him.

"Holy crap, Ness," I cried out, "what happened to you?" That was when I saw the cuts on his arm…and the knife on the floor next to him.

"Lucas, I can explain…" he began. He wiped his face with the bloodstained arm.

"Don't," I firmly said. "Oh God, Ness, we gotta get you cleaned up."

"No!" he shouted. "They'll know. Dr. Mario's gonna want a psychological way to explain this, and they'll pull me out of the tournament. I can't let that happen!"

"Okay, okay. I'll just clean you up here, and you start explaining what the heck went wrong." I started scouring the tree house for the first-aid kit I kept up here on a wave of paranoia.

"It's a complicated story."

"I don't care."

"You'll get bored."

"I'm a good listener," I sighed, "now get on with the damned story."

"Let me see if I can put it to you easily." He paused for a few moments as I dabbed his arm with rubbing alcohol. Now that the blood was clear, I could see just how many cuts there were. As it turns out, there were fifteen cuts. They scratched out the word "ALONE." I stared blankly, trying not to think about what that meant. Otherwise, I would be swept up in a wave of worry, paralyzed and unable to help Ness.

"Do you ever feel alone?"

That came unexpectedly. Ness looked me in the eyes and asked again. "Do you ever feel alone?"

"Of course I have, stupid. When you're by yourself in a room, it's hard _not_ to feel alone."

"Okay, you got me there. Now, have you ever been alone in a crowded room?"

"What the F-word are you talking about?" I snapped.

"Let me rephrase that. Have you ever been surrounded by people and felt almost as if you were locked in a room with a soundproof window separating you from the crowd?"

I wanted to say no, but there was a bugging feeling that told me he spoke my true feelings. Earlier, the Smashers, all congratulating me, encircled me and I felt detached, as if I wasn't included. It was a complicated matter of emotions indeed, but it made sense to me.

"I know how you feel."

"No, you don't," he insisted. "You don't know what it's like. Being surrounded by people, all of whom you feel detached from, and feeling totally on your own is just barely tolerable. You can't make them get along with you, you just have to go through life in your own little world where you can't rely on anyone." He was crying now, and I wanted to cry with him. But for now, I'd have to be the strong one for Ness.

"I do know how it feels," I firmly reassured. "Maybe it isn't this way all the time, but I have the "soundproof bubble" feeling sometimes. You don't have to be alone Ness." Then, without letting my brain think the idea through, I kissed Ness on the cheek. At least, that was the plan. He turned, probably to retort, and our lips met. Just like that.

The kiss was wet and salty from the tears. I could also taste the metallic blood from when he wiped his face. It wasn't the best way to have a first kiss, but then I realized that this was the only way I wanted that first kiss to be. I had been chewing spearmint gum earlier, and really hoped that it still wasn't in my mouth right now.

The whole ordeal ended too fast. Our lips separated, and we just stared at each other for what could easily have been years. I pulled my gaze away from him and looked out the crudely carved window. Dusk was approaching fast.

"We should get going," I said.

"No," Ness insisted, "not until I've healed completely. You go back."

"I'm not leaving you. You don't have to be alone tonight," I added lewdly.

"You gonna back up those words?" Ness questioned, equally naughty.

"Not unless you go back with me."

"Too late. The sun's gone down."

"Crap! How am I going to get back?"

"Don't worry; the floor is as comfortable as any bed if you want it to be."

"I was joking!" I protested.

"That ain't gonna stop me tonight."

I looked at the sky. "Whatever is up there, save me now or knock me dead."

When we got back, the females fretted over us for a few minutes. I lied slickly, saying how I got lost until Ness found me. Once everything was "okay," everyone ignored us once again. I slipped my hand into his, and he squeezed it.

I had been alone in a crowded room, but now, I had someone to share the burden with me.

AN: Like it? Hate it? Wanna make a request? Leave a comment, and I may get to it…eventually.


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